Qgar
New Member
OMG, you hit the nail on the head....:yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat:
It is so infuriating when this happens. I'm still seething over what happened to me last week. I won't soon forget how I was "talked to" either.
"Customer is always right" questioned
- Thread starter Nick
- Start date
OMG, you hit the nail on the head....:yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat:
It is so infuriating when this happens. I'm still seething over what happened to me last week. I won't soon forget how I was "talked to" either.
kellwolf
Piece of Trash
OMG, you hit the nail on the head....:yeahthat::yeahthat::yeahthat:
It is so infuriating when this happens. I'm still seething over what happened to me last week. I won't soon forget how I was "talked to" either.
Sounds like "Cougar Story Time....."
Having worked in retail and insurance which both deal with customers quite a bit on a one-on-one basis, I can tell you without a doubt that 99.9% of the time the customer is wrong.
The thing that sucks, is no matter how much knowledge and information you have on the subject, 110% of the time, you as the employee are the one that's wrong.
-mini
The thing that sucks, is no matter how much knowledge and information you have on the subject, 110% of the time, you as the employee are the one that's wrong.
-mini
Qgar
New Member
Old Pete
Cockpit Authoritarian
Well of course it does(depend on how you do it), "The customer is always Right" is an attitude of customer service, not an inviolate policy of how to deal with irate/dissatisfied customers. Someone who interprets it literally as all customers are right all the time is a pedantic fool. Having a "Customer is always Right" attitude doesn't mean "giving away the store" or allowing scammers to take advantage of you or allowing customers to berate your employees. That's just plain bad management. Mr. Bethune and Kelleher are not the first businessmen who have told unreasonable customers "to go pound sand".
The question is when and how do you choose to deal with customers who believe they have received poor service and how much do you spend to retain them as customers. Some businesses spend a lot of money on advertising, promotions, and discounts to attract new customers but refuse to spend any money to retain profitable customers. It simply doesn't make any sense for an employee to get into "pissing match" over who is "right" over something trivial.
Good management who believe in customer service and their employees will put the ability to make customer service decisions in the hands of the employees who deal directly with the customers, train them how to solve customer problems, and back them up.
Avalon781ML
Well-Known Member
I used to work for 9E as a cross utilized agent.... at least at our station the saying was that "the customer is usually wrong when it comes to airlines." In essence.... because we (the night shift) were abused on a daily basis without having a manager on duty to deal with unruly customers we stopped putting up with passengers' verbal abuse. Blllaaaaahhhh..... that was a lung full. I have been sworn at, have my life threatened, and spit upon by passengers..... I have been called a scab (unjustly of course).... and one pax made the comment "I hope you die of cancer."
Without getting into details.... I did enjoy turning a blind eye to the actions taken against these • passengers that would have gotten anyone of us fired.... like simply forget to load their bag on the aircraft when they have a tight connection going overseas.... or for the gent who called us a scabs.... sent his bag to LAX when he was headed to FLL... denying boarding 29 minute prior to departure at an airport where they could have gotten on had they been a little less vulgar....
I have been out of that type of work for some time and after having grown up a lot I realize this was very childish of us but it was our way to fight back when no one else in a position of power would.
Without getting into details.... I did enjoy turning a blind eye to the actions taken against these • passengers that would have gotten anyone of us fired.... like simply forget to load their bag on the aircraft when they have a tight connection going overseas.... or for the gent who called us a scabs.... sent his bag to LAX when he was headed to FLL... denying boarding 29 minute prior to departure at an airport where they could have gotten on had they been a little less vulgar....
I have been out of that type of work for some time and after having grown up a lot I realize this was very childish of us but it was our way to fight back when no one else in a position of power would.
tonyw
Well-Known Member
The companies that do the best put their employees first. Then their employees find ways to take care of the customers, which ends up creating shareholder value.
The CEO of Johnson & Johnson said that.
I think he may know a thing or two about how to run a company well and what constitutes good customer service.
You take care of your customers as best you can, but when they get out of line, you tell them they are out of line. Eventually, you tell them, you know what, I don't want your business, go to the other guy.
The CEO of Johnson & Johnson said that.
I think he may know a thing or two about how to run a company well and what constitutes good customer service.
You take care of your customers as best you can, but when they get out of line, you tell them they are out of line. Eventually, you tell them, you know what, I don't want your business, go to the other guy.
Matt13C
Well-Known Member
But that is not always practical. Empowering your employees can only go so far, there will always come a point where management needs to be involved. The customer is always right mantra, if followed to the letter, says that you should do whatever possible to keep the customer happy and keep the goodwill of the company strong.
In the TV experience I spoke of earlier, I as a customer service rep, was incapable of making the decision on my own. Even if management allowed me to make exceptions excessively outside of policy I would still need an over ride. This would put me in the cross hairs of district managers when the "loss" is brought to their attention through weekly P&L printouts.
When a company follows the customer is always right method it will result in some decline of employee morale. You can attempt to stave this off by giving employees some slack with the rules, making them feel valuable. However, when management goes against company policy, which they routinely do under these guidelines, they will be telling the employee their decision and opinion, no matter how "to code" it may be, is wrong and unimportant.
The whole compensation thing is totally out of control. I get into straight up arguments with New Yorkers daily because their flight is 15-25 mins late due to ATC, WX, etc. "What are you gonna do for me?", "What do I get?" Bla Bla Bla. When supervisors or other agents authorize things that people otherwise would not be entitled to this makes them think that everytime something deviates for the slightest reason they get something. Case and point I had some dude getting loud with me because I had to move him from 16C to 11D. (it was a maddog so it was an aisle seat for an aisle seat). I did it to get a family together. He went on to tell me that he got $50.00 voucher last time in JFK when this happened. After going back and forth for about 5 or so mins this is how it ended.
DUDE: I'm incensed over this I need something to make this right.
ME: Sorry sir I can not do that.
DUDE: But I payed for this seat
ME: Yes you paid for A seat, and you have A seat. Same type of seat but on the right side of the airplane and even further up.
DUDE: I got a voucher in JFK last time.
ME: Sir look out the window behind me....do you see Manhattan? This isn't JFK and for something minor like this you should not of received anything.
DUDE: I want a supervisor.
ME: I'll be more than happy to call you one but I have 6 mins to dispatch this airplane and I can pretty much assure you they will not be here in 6 mins, and no I will not delay 127 other people on account of one.
The guy then got on the airplane. He had a tkt for $85.00 and was a credit card frequent flyer. Medallion flyers and guys like that, whatever you want I will get for you (within reason). Clowns like this I simply refuse to give you something you are not entitled to. We are essentially taking a loss on this ticket and believe me there is someone out there that will be more than happy to fly the fare he had. That is essentially the gist of my post. For this fool who was making a scene and busting our chops there is some person over at CO, AA, UA, or wherever complaining about the same thing and saying "I'll never fly you again," who will then come over to us. Its a revolving door because there is NO CUSTOMER LOYALTY. If its cheap they are buying it weather or not it has a widget, eagle, globe, a big U, or a funky American flag on the tail means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to people. Dont get me wrong I try to help everyone I can, with a smile on my face, but sometimes people don't get it and "killing them with kindness" isn't even enough.
DUDE: I'm incensed over this I need something to make this right.
ME: Sorry sir I can not do that.
DUDE: But I payed for this seat
ME: Yes you paid for A seat, and you have A seat. Same type of seat but on the right side of the airplane and even further up.
DUDE: I got a voucher in JFK last time.
ME: Sir look out the window behind me....do you see Manhattan? This isn't JFK and for something minor like this you should not of received anything.
DUDE: I want a supervisor.
ME: I'll be more than happy to call you one but I have 6 mins to dispatch this airplane and I can pretty much assure you they will not be here in 6 mins, and no I will not delay 127 other people on account of one.
The guy then got on the airplane. He had a tkt for $85.00 and was a credit card frequent flyer. Medallion flyers and guys like that, whatever you want I will get for you (within reason). Clowns like this I simply refuse to give you something you are not entitled to. We are essentially taking a loss on this ticket and believe me there is someone out there that will be more than happy to fly the fare he had. That is essentially the gist of my post. For this fool who was making a scene and busting our chops there is some person over at CO, AA, UA, or wherever complaining about the same thing and saying "I'll never fly you again," who will then come over to us. Its a revolving door because there is NO CUSTOMER LOYALTY. If its cheap they are buying it weather or not it has a widget, eagle, globe, a big U, or a funky American flag on the tail means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to people. Dont get me wrong I try to help everyone I can, with a smile on my face, but sometimes people don't get it and "killing them with kindness" isn't even enough.
kellwolf
Piece of Trash
Sadly, I have to agree with this. MOST people will just meekly sit down and be quite. There are the rare few that think the world revolves around them and have no qualms of delaying 100+ passengers for their convenience. In fact, some even get off on that.
bartman
Well-Known Member
:yeahthat:
Not sure about the shame but arrogance DEFINITELY has no limits. If arrogance were fuel, some people could be self-sufficient for a trip to Jupiter. Hasta la vista!!
tonyw
Well-Known Member
Yeah, well, if he can't talk because his jaw is broken....
Not that I'd advocate violence, but there might be others in the group of 127 who feel differently.
And 127 people who swear up and down that he fell down, hit his jaw on the counter, and broke it that way.
Number1atNumber2
Tries to keep it fun.
I'd love to see that!
Very true.
scflyin
New Member
This is a great post. I used to work for an FBO that was started by a gentleman who also was well known in the hotel industry. They are so busy kissing the customers a## it's ridiculous. Now I am not against great customer service, but as some have mentioned before, the company always backs the customer and not the employee. The morale at the company is very low and the turn over rate is very high. After somehow working there for almost three years I finally left. Now I go back on occasion to see some friends but to also remind myself that failure is not an option with this new job. Sometimes you just have to risk losing the one lousy customer to gain a few great customers.
Well I hope they also get off on watching their plane push back from the gate without them on it.
Wing_96
Well-Known Member
A lot of corporations don't care about the turn over. They know they are going to burn people out and have high turn over, but they do it anyway because they know they will always have fresh meat.
I am not a fan of the customer always being right. I too worked at company where this was the case. It was just stupid the way the company bent over for some jerk working the sytem so they could get something for nothing.
I believe in the "I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" philosophy more.